PEOPLE
On a worldwide scale , Udemy CEO Kevin Johnson stated : “ the nature of jobs is quickly changing with automation , globalisation , government policies and other factors , making it impossible for anyone to predict which skills a job will require in the future . This only serves to widen the perceived skills gap .” In the US , 79 % of full-time employees according to Udemy believe there is a skills shortage and 35 % “ feel personally affected by it ”, but 80 % of these believe that workforce reskilling will be successful . In terms of reskilling efforts , 41 % think the government , through tax benefits or otherwise , should contribute .
Udemy ’ s report analysed five global markets and found that in France , staff largely don ’ t feel the need to upskill , with 75 % stating that they were confident with their current skill set – however in Brazil , 98 % of those surveyed acknowledged the existence of a skills gap in their country . In terms of responsibility , 50 % of Mexicans felt that it was up to the individual to upskill , with 17 % placing responsibility on the government and 13 % on employers . It was also found that some people have taken on a second
job in order to utilise their skills in a more appropriate way , with 39 % of Americans describing themselves as having a “ side hustle ” in comparison with just 18 % in both Spain and Germany .
In the US , there are doubtless deepseated issues that will not be solved overnight . However , with mega-projects in construction and infrastructure in the offing such as those tied to the 2028 Olympics , California ’ s high-speed rail and LAX ’ s $ 5mn upgrade program , there is no time to wait . With that in mind , the question is : how can companies
58 May 2018